Homecoming
by kurosaki9
Summary: The former Fullmetal Alchemist returns back to Amestris after passing safely through the Gate, changed. What's in store for Amestris and her people when the blonde they all knew isn't what he used to be? Set after the Conqueror of Shambala, AU.
1. Prologue

Title: Homecoming

Pairing: RoyxEdward, past EdwardxOC (OC's will not be in full detail as they are unimportant)

Warning: AU; NC-17 Overall; this chapter, T. Some mentions of character deaths.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything remotely related to the series, Fullmetal Alchemist. It belongs to Arakawa-Sensei's genius mind.

Summary: The former Fullmetal Alchemist returns back to Amestris after passing safely through the Gate, changed. What's in store for Amestris and her people when the blonde they all knew isn't what he used to be? Set after the Conqueror of Shambala with a few events changed.

**REVISED: 6/19/11: Sorry for this guys. There were some mistakes, as in inconsistencies that had to be cleared up since I was like twenty years off. I thought Hitler was in power in the movie, Conqueror of Shambala and found out he wasn't. Everything's the same except for the timeline background.**

PROLOGUE

He had been anticipating for the day he'd be able to come back to his home world ever since the last time he had stepped foot on its ground when the Thule Society had invaded Amestris. It had been three years since he'd seen those he held dear. It had been tough at first; being able to see his younger brother, Winry, Sheska, and Mustang and then suddenly deciding to do the right thing and sealing off the Gate's Entrance on Munich's side.

He had not wanted to part from them, nor had he had any intentions of doing so. It had been a spontaneous decision, not thought out, an "Edward decision" as the Bastard Colonel had numerously dubbed those last minute decisions years ago. After closing the gate, he had succumbed to a severe case of depression and the only thing he had thought of that would be able to help him cope with the separation was to enlist in the army.

He had not enlisted into the German Army because he had a small gut feeling that he wouldn't like where the country would be going to for the next couple of years. Friederich Ebert was in charge of Germany, housing the Nazi Party and he knew, just knew that all those impressionable men would most likely be brainwashed into thinking that they were doing the right thing for their country when in all reality it was the wrong choice.

No, he had enlisted in the British Army and had at first been an enlisted man but had later switched professions after his superiors felt that he had potential. He had been sent to the King and had become the King's loyal dog, killing anyone who would bring harm to the country and her people. He had come to regret his decision after seeing various familiar faces from time to time. Those familiar faces had not been in the army but had been the victims who had died by his hands on the various missions given to him.

It had devastated him tremendously the first couple of times but after a while he had started not caring for the fallen. He had figured that the pain and guilt that would follow him after every mission would impede him from doing his job that he had took the decision of locking away his emotions and sealing the key with them.

Upon doing so, he had realized that he was able to cope with staining his hands with blood over and over again to the point that the lifestyle had become second nature to him. It had alienated the King and his commanding officers in the beginning but over time they had found that Edward's coping mechanism was something of great importance and had seen to it that the blonde never associate anything without the cool mask he had donned so well over the past three years.

It had been one particular assignment that had actually gotten him to where he currently resided at; Amestris. Upon waking up in the middle of town square, he had thought that he had just been moved from where he had been but upon further inspection he had realized that he was not dreaming and that he in fact was back home.

He had killed a man who had become a great threat to the British government and had not realized that the man had drawn what looked to be a transmutation circle. Once the pool of blood had kissed the floor, the circle had activated, pulling him in to the flash of white. Once he had opened his eyes, he stood face to face with the Gate of Truth's doors and had been told that he had met the required sacrifices needed to be able to go back home to where he belonged.

It had occurred to him that had he been younger, he would have been trying to bargain with the Gate, pleading with it to bring back all those who had been sacrificed and to take him instead. But Edward Elric had changed. He felt a little content that he had finally lived up to the Gate's expectations and was finally returning home but at the same time he felt conflicted. He didn't want to leave the life he had been living, knowing full well that Amestris' government would take full advantage of his skills or would cast him aside and mark him as a threat to be disposed of.

He then chuckled to himself and felt that if he could be of some use to his country then everything would be fine. He had come to terms with himself, knowing full well that he liked to be useful and someone with purpose. All he had to do was see if he would be able to re-instate himself as a State Alchemist and a soldier but he first had to see who was running the damn country. His former employer had been King George. He had shown true potential and had guided him with his leash well. He hoped that whoever was in charge now would be able to compare with him.

He stood up shakily and it took him a while to gain his footing. He pivoted to where he knew Central Headquarters resided. He knew that it would be open seeing as the sun was beginning to peak from the Horizon. He had to get there early or else risking being stopped by idiots who took their jobs to seriously in protecting their Fuhrer. Had he known that his changed persona would affect how the current Fuhrer regarded him he would have tried to at least prepare himself for all the hell and bullshit he'd have to get through in order to gain the man's trust. He'd be in for a rough ride but he held no concern over it He knew that he'd be able to succeed.


	2. CHAPTER 1

Title: Homecoming

Pairing: Eventual RoyxEdward, past EdwardxOC (Minor mentions)

Warning: AU; NC-17 Overall; this chapter, T. Some depictions of character deaths.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything remotely related to the series, Fullmetal Alchemist. It belongs to Arakawa-Sensei's genius mind.

Summary: The former Fullmetal Alchemist returns back to Amestris after passing safely through the Gate, changed. What's in store for Amestris and her people when the blonde they all knew isn't what he used to be? Set after the Conqueror of Shambala with a few events changed.

CHAPTER 1

He had been a block away from Central Headquarters when the idea came to him. Wouldn't those who knew who he was have a heart attack when they saw him? It seemed as if transcending through time via the Gate had made him a bit senile. He stopped in his tracks and contemplated on how to let everyone know that the former Fullmetal Alchemist was back in town after his "untimely demise" five years ago. No one except Winry, Scheska, Alphonse, and Mustang knew that he had come back three years ago, not counting Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda, Fury, and Falman, for which they were not present for his small reunion, because he knew that Mustang wouldn't keep anything from his team.

He made a list of the people who wouldn't shoot him on sight, mistaking him for a Homunculus in human's form. Riza Hawkeye popped into his mind and he knew that even though she was a trigger happy harpy, she wouldn't as much kill him without getting some answers. Although she would shoot at him but that was incentive enough to make him seek her out. He knew that he could count on her and just hoped that it was still the case. He didn't want an attempt of being backstabbed because his instincts would kick in and he was sure that he'd come out alive.

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It had been a little more than 9 months that he had taken the position as Fuhrer after the successful assassination of the late Fuhrer Hakuro. The man had not been bad despite being Bradley's most trusted General. He had actually worked towards peace, with the goal of wanting his children to have a safe place to live in. He might not have succeeded, seeing as he'd left a wife and two kids, but that's where he'd come in. He would pick up where Hakuro had left off on and do a better job than all of his predecessors. He was disheartened that two people he thought would be by his side at the time he'd realized his goal where currently six feet under and not in this side of the Gate.

It had greatly devastated him when Hughes had been murdered by that abomination's hands. He had lost hope but had regained it, if only a bit, and had entrusted his hopes on the older Elric sibling. Fullmetal didn't know about that assumed role, at least he hoped not, and had up and disappeared to the other side of the Gate not a year after that.

He thought that the blonde had died bringing his brother's body back from the clutches of the gate but now it was a different story. Now he knew that it wasn't just them that lived and breathed; that there was life like theirs in another parallel universe.

There were many days he spent thinking about what the blonde could be up to and if he'd stayed the same. Three years ago, the last time he'd seen the blonde, he had seen that nothing about the blonde had remotely changed. The only thing that had somewhat matured to some extent was his temperament and his height. Thinking about the blonde now, he'd do anything in his power to bring Edward back to where he truly belonged.

The last few weeks though, that thought had changed significantly. He began to doubt himself, asking himself if he'd still think the same if Edward showed up here and now. In the past, he'd never dismissed that feeling he'd get in his gut when he felt that things were one step to hitting the fan. His gut feeling had never been wrong but could he really trust it now? This was Edward he was thinking about. He found to conclusive reason on why to feel this way; a sense of foreboding. Sure, Fullmetal had been known to get into trouble in the past but he'd never gotten feelings like this. He'd have to be careful for now and hoped that this feeling went away; for the country's sake and for his.

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After leaving Amestris a second time, when he went back to close the Gate, he had taken it upon himself to calculate every move he made into consideration so as not to do any stupid blunders and here he was, doing what he said he wouldn't ever do again. He had never considered himself that stupid but he guessed that there was a first time for everything. He'd have to file this stupidity in the recesses of his mind for future reference on "What not to do when Hawkeye's around."

Oh, he'd been searching for her after he had the "epiphany" of waltzing into Central Headquarters would warrant him getting shot at from a distance or point blank. Who knew what the military had fed the soldiers that joined the ranks after he'd "died." He knew that they would have done an investigation. The thing is, there had been no body to recover and no word about him. He'd been most likely been dubbed as a deserter and he'd take no pride in partaking in any of their fabricated lies. Although, it might be proven of his "treason" simply because of the fact he had his British uniform which surprisingly held a striking resemblance to Regalian military forces. He knew not if Amestris was currently in good amends with Regals but he'd just say that they weren't in order to prepare himself with anything that might be hurdled his way.

So, after deciding what to do, he had stealthily went around Central, trying to keep in the shadows with the sun barely peaking from the horizon. There weren't many commuters out right now but he wouldn't take his chances in being recognized before schedule. He believed that it might be just peaking to 0600 hours. What he had failed to do after the constant drilling he'd taken back in Britain, which would most definitely gotten him killed in any other occasion, was to scan a corner fully until you were sure there was no one on the other side, and almost came smack face to face with the muzzle of a gun. He should have known that this was bound to happen someday and he should have guessed that it would be with Hawkeye of all people but he had deemed it irrelevant since he was back home. He had been taught to be a bit paranoid, which had come to be extremely useful but it had escaped him moments ago. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to hurt her should she try to harm him in any way. But upon seeing her somewhat shocked appearance, he'd say that there'd be a chance of them both coming out alive.

He couldn't resist the cheeky twitch he'd get in the past when he was about to grin like "a cat who ate the canary" that had now felt foreign to his face muscles. He'd done that smile so many times in the past but now it just made his face start to hurt not even seconds after he'd shown a small figment of emotion. But in all reality, no matter how much it hurt his face, he'd actually be thankful that he'd smiled a bit because in the next moment he'd been embraced almost motherly and affectionately by an uncharacteristic, teary eyed Riza.

He wondered what had happened in the past five years since he'd seen her. The last he'd seen her, she had just started to lecture him when she had felt that he'd overstepped his boundaries when talking harshly to Mustang. She now seemed to be like a completely different person but he couldn't say as of yet if it was a good or bad thing. He'd just have to wait and see.

It seemed that she'd finally gotten control of herself because after a rather prolonged minute, she'd parted from him and gave him a stern look. Now, that was better.

"Hey, long time no see?"

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**A/N: Regals is the equivalent of Britain and resides east of Amestris.**


	3. CHAPTER 2

Title: Homecoming

Pairing: Eventual RoyxEdward, past EdwardxOC (Minor mentions)

Warning: AU; NC-17 Overall; this chapter, T. Some depictions of character deaths.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything remotely related to the series, Fullmetal Alchemist. It belongs to Arakawa-Sensei's genius mind.

Summary: The former Fullmetal Alchemist returns back to Amestris after passing safely through the Gate, changed. What's in store for Amestris and her people when the blonde they all knew isn't what he used to be? Set after the Conqueror of Shambala with a few events changed.

CHAPTER 2

"Edward, be reasonable," replied Hawkeye with a disapproving look on her face. He knew that she'd question him but he had had to ask. Now that the idea had been stomped to the ground, he could use any means necessary to convince her to at least go along with what he had to say.

"I am being reasonable. You of all people should understand what me being here can cause. Hell, you might think I'm some crazy bitch deserter who's just come back begging like a dog to make a place back to the very military he supposedly betrayed," the blonde debated. He caught the woman's forlorn look and he tried to warm his tone a bit more than the coldness it had taken on moments ago.

"I'm sure that Mustang's filled you in about my absence. I need you to cover my back to at least make it in alive to the Fuhrer's office." The younger man knew that he didn't need anyone covering for his ass. He was asking her this "favor" in order to keep the body count to zero. He could keep up the pretense of being a small kitten out to play but sooner or later that tiger's going to rear its head and he won't do anything to stop it from doing whatever it wanted. He'd grown accustomed to attacking first and dealing with consequences, if any, later.

Scotch eyes looked up at her and saw the morning glow from the curtains reflect of her frame in such a way that in a blink of an eye he was transported back to his time in Greenwich, England. It had been a rather posh hotel where he had cleaved Riza's doppelganger in the chest after much hesitation. She had looked up at him with a shocked look before her eyes had dulled and in another blink of his eyes he was back in Amestris. He mentally kicked himself, and tried to shove away that memory deep into the crevices of his mind. He had no need of ghosts from his past to come haunting him here of all places. He had dealt with the memories before and he could just as well do it again but he felt that now wasn't the time to show anyone, least of all people he knew, his acquired skills. Not yet, anyways.

The blonde woman sighed, bringing the young man from his wandering thoughts. The younger blonde looked up at her expectantly, already tasting success and saw her shake her head. He'd won this round.

"Fine, I'll try to keep them at bay but you do realize that I could always call Roy and have him order everyone to keep from attacking you. That's the easiest way to ensure your safety and everyone else's."

The woman gave him a leveled look that just managed to make him fractionally twitch. He'd always liked Riza, still did in fact, but the way she'd look at you, almost knowing why you asked for something in the first place, unnerved him. He'd forgotten how good she was at reading people and that just didn't sit well with him. It hadn't in the past and even now it still made him uncomfortable.

"That works too but he mustn't known that the former Fullmetal Alchemist is here. I want it to be a surprise. Just tell him a foreign soldier comes to have a word with the Fuhrer."

"Seeing as your uniform looks like Cretian and Regalian garments, I feel that that would be a wise choice to inform him of. Consider it done."

Yup, he'd just have to find a way to close himself off a bit more if not completely to Riza's hawk eyes.

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He had just received a phone call from Hawkeye that had informed him that a Colonel from the Regalian Army was asking an audience with the Fuhrer himself about personal matters. There were two things that had popped into the raven haired man's head during the brief phone call: 'What the hell had he done to piss of the Regalian Army,' and 'Why hadn't he been hearing anything about being close to war with them?' It hadn't been easy dealing with the Regalians and their Monarch government. They believe d that the military should not be in power but should follow orders from a King or Queen. The King, Henry Edwards, had made it inconspicuously clear that he would be glad to take over Amestris once its military government fell into ruins.

The older man had had a field day trying to calm Hakuro down about the blunt transgression. It had not been a simple matter to repair but they had signed something like a pact that stated that each nations, or rather country, would keep its nose into its business. My problems are not your problems and vice-versa and he had actually rather agreed with it. Who needed another country that was far west to tell you what to do? It was a ridiculous idea. He hoped that Regals stuck to their own business and he would make sure that Amestris stuck to their business.

He set to work planning anything and everything possible to try and at least postpone the Regalians from doing something stupid while having one of their men visit "frenemy" territory. He was somewhat glad that he had 'till tomorrow afternoon to get it all set up. The question was, why was Hawkeye at home when she had to be working and how had she gotten hold of the information on their guest?

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The older woman had gone off to work late for the first time in her life after making sure that Edward was well situated. She had gone as far as ordering him to stay put or risk getting a bullet to his leg. He had promised her that he'd be here once she got back but told her not to hold her breath.

After the woman had left, the young blonde had realized something Hawkeye might feel was uncharacteristic of him; he had not once asked how Alphonse was. He knew that that conversation was bound to take place and it was only a matter of time. He might be interrogated by her until she got a decent answer from him. He figured that once she asked, he'd just tell her that he had seen Al before even coming to Central. Even though that was a blatant lie, she didn't need to know that. She might find out later but that was fine with him.

The problem lied with Alphonse. The younger man knew that if he had been his younger self, he'd be ashamed of even forgetting about Alphonse but not the him right now. His little brother wasn't his top priority. His top priority was to snag a spot in the military so he could continue to work like before, being able to kill people or not. He already felt like a caged animal not being able to go out and hunt. How could he face Al with the way he was right now?

The reason why he wouldn't meet Alphonse was that he knew that the younger boy would quickly know what was different about him. He'd like to save his brother from that little revelation, or at least postpone it for as long as possible. He knew that his brother would give him that disappointed look he'd give you when he had been younger and when mom had still been alive and he knew that it would be the same. He'd ran the scenarios in his head when he had gotten the job in the first place and now and he realized that regardless if Al found out what he was, what he did now to people, how easily he could extinguish a life, he wouldn't change anything. It was that that would kill the younger Elric but he had had to learn the ways of an assassin, a mercenary in order to survive. If he had to do it again, to ensure that he was safe, he'd do it over and over again 'till he couldn't anymore.


End file.
